The Hangover II
by zhen123
Summary: A sequel to my story The Hangover I, which was a sequel to my story All I got for Christmas was a Roofie in my Drink. Jim and Bones spend a slightly awkward Christmas evening together and gain deeper insight into one another.


Disclaimer: I own nothing!

Also, I always forget to do this because it seems so unnecessary, but I suppose I should toss out a slash warning.

**Author notes**: This is the sequel to The Hangover I, which was the sequel to All I got for Christmas was a Roofie in my Drink. I am sooo sorry that it took me...almost a year to update...? Yeah, I'm sorry. I have at least two other fics which I need to finish or are owed to someone. My sincerest and deepest apologies, life has been kicking my ass this year. So, with no further ado, the story:

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><p>This was a side of Jim he'd never seen before.<p>

He'd seen the kid cheerful. He'd seen the kid hyper and energetic. He'd seen the kid pissed off and ready to get into a fight. But even pissed off and drunk at a bar, Jim always seemed to keep that smile plastered onto his face, his way of letting the world know how unaffected he was by it all.

Bones had grown accustomed to his overly saccharine, cheerful friend, always clapping him on the back, telling him funny stories, trying to get high fives, jumping up and down** (literally)** with too much energy.

He didn't know what to do with a Jim who acted shy.

Bones chopped vegetables, stirred bowls of ingredients, read recipes. All the while Jim sat at the table, doing whatever small task Bones would let him do, eyes averted towards his hands, not talking. He didn't seem depressed, he didn't seem upset. He seemed insecure. Of course, it was no wonder he'd be feeling out of sorts after the night they had.

"How ya doin' over there, Darlin'" Bones called over his shoulder, sneaking a glance at his quiet companion. Jim's head shot up at the endearment, and Bones' face began to burn when he realized what he had said. Jim sighed.

"I'm fine Bones. You don't need to fuss over me." Jim mumbled in reply, cheeks also flushing. Bones finished up his task, put some of the food into the oven, and set the timer. Then he turned towards his friend.

"What's going on Jim? I've never seen you so quiet. Are you thinking about last night?" He walked over to the table and sat down. Jim's flush deepened.

"No..yeah..I was thinking...No. I wasn't thinking about last night. I was thinking how nice you're being to me. You're usually grumpy and sarcastic, and kind of mean, and I know how to deal with you when you're like that. But now suddenly you're treating me like porcelain. Like I'm one of your child patients or something. It's weird." Bones inwardly swore. He hadn't thought he was acting differently too.

"Kid, I definitely don't think of you as porcelain. I've seen you take down a man three times your size and walk away with barely a scrape."

"Then that's with the eggshells act?" Jim demanded, looking surly.

"I guess..." Bones stopped himself. Why was he acting so differently? Was it because he had seen Jim vulnerable? Was it because he felt bad for the kid? Or was it because of his own revelation he had had regarding Jim Kirk the night before. He had realized he found the kid attractive, and now he couldn't look at Jim the same way. He examined Jim's face. The beautiful earnest blue eyes that jumped out. He had never realized how attractive that quality was before last night, and now he couldn't stop staring at them. Never mind the rest of the man...his looks were stellar, and Bones had always known that. Just until now he had known it as a fact, and now he knew it in a more personal way. But...he halted his thought process before he began to drool. What the hell would Kirk want with a scruffy, older divorcee, who's profession was **Doctor**, the one profession that Jim seemed to hate more than anything? The kid would want nothing to do with him, and it would be embarrassing, and possibly devastating to both of them if their friendship ended because of Bones' own inability to keep it in his pants. So he changed tactics and said the second thing he could think of... "I guess it just worries me how easily you can bounce back from an attack like you endured last night. It's been making me think that something like this has happened to you before." Jim looked like someone had slapped him. Bones' head began to spin. Had that actually just come out of his mouth? Stupid, stupid...Just as he was about to backtrack, Jim plastered a saccharine smile onto his face.

"Listen, it's sweet of you to be concerned, but I'm fine. Really. No, I've never been roofied in a bar before. But the thing is, is that **nothing happened. **You rescued me. You were a knight in shining armor and all that, but now the deed is done, and we can just be Jim and Bones again, okay?" A hopeful glint shined in his eyes, through the mask he had donned a moment earlier.

"Yeah, Jim. Of course. I didn't mean to pry." He turned back to his oven, and opened it to baste the turkey, starting to ramble to cover the uncomfortable moment. "I hope this turkey turns out all right. My mama taught me the proper way to make a turkey, which is to brine it starting the day before. You soak it in salt and water, and brown sugar and tons of herbs and aromatics, and put it in a tub of ice. Makes the meat tender and tasty the whole way through. Shoulda thought of that yesterday. At least I've got good aromatics in it, and good seasoning. I'm sure it'll taste decent. What about you, Jim? Yer Mama teach you 'bout cookin'?" He turned towards Jim as he tasted the stock he was making with the giblets for the gravy later. Jim's face darkened slightly.

"My mom didn't teach me much of anything. She wasn't really around. It was just me and Sam mostly."

"Sam?" Bones asked. He hadn't heard of a Sam before now.

"Yeah, my brother. He's three years older than me. He and I used to be really close, but I haven't seen him in years now. He's off planet now, last I heard. Married." Jim scoffed.

"I didn't know you had a brother." Bones was surprised.

" **Had** being the operative word. He ran off when I was ten. He was thirteen, and I still don't know where he went, or what he did, but somehow he seemed to do all right for himself."

"Why'd he run off?" Bones asked, knowing he had to tread lightly on family matters with the kid. Jim looked down for a minute, before glancing back up at his friend curiously.

"You know...I don't talk about my family or any of that shit with anyone? I don't know why, but it's easy to talk to you about it all. I mean, I'm sure you get that I'm not super close with them." Bones nodded in understanding, opening his mouth to reply.

"Well, maybe it's 'cause you know that my family life ain't exactly a peach either. My Mama died the year I started college. My Daddy died the year my daughter was born." He paused, swallowing hard. That was a different story entirely, one that this kid with no father surely wouldn't want to hear. "My wife left me three years after that. I was an only child." Kirk nodded.

"Yeah. Totally, and you never ask about my Dad. You never talk to me like I'm George Kirk's son. I'm always Jim to you. It's pretty cool." He smiled at Bones. "That turkey smells really good, by the way. I've never had homemade turkey. Just the stuff at diners or on sandwiches." He half smiled, and a flush seemed to darken on his cheeks. "Sam left 'cause he couldn't deal with our stepdad anymore. Frank" He said the name like it left a bad taste in his mouth. Bones glanced over from the stove , not wanting to push too much, but curious as hell.

"I take it you didn't like this Frank guy much either?" Jim smirked, huffing a laugh.

"Definitely not. He was a real treasure. I don't know what my mom was doing with him, but she married him when I was four. And then she just left us with him. All the time. I remember her coming home a couple times a year, and being so fucking oblivious to us. I remember Sam tried to tell her that Frank had hit him, and she sat down with him, really serious, and said that she knows that her being away so much is hard for him, but that we are a Starfleet family, and that means making sacrifices. She said that making up reasons for her to stay home wasn't honorable of him or some bullshit." Jim's cheeks had turned into a full blown blush, and he stared down at his hands. Bones put a lid on the pot, and sat down heavily into the chair next to Jim.

"Was Frank like that with you too?" he asked lightly. Jim glanced up for a second.

"Frank was...Frank was mostly like that with Sam. I was a total nerd when I was a kid, and I never got into trouble, but Sam was always acting out, you know. I was really quiet. I stayed away from Frank and he stayed away from me. Sometimes he would flip out at me, but Sam would always try to divert his attention away. He was a really good big brother. And then he left when I was ten, and he said, you know, what a good kid I am, and how it'll be okay for me. And that's the last time I saw him till I was a lot older."

"Was he right? Did Frank leave you alone?" Bones asked. Jim barked out a laugh.

"Nah. I was pissed off, and I started acting out. Started fights with kids at school, and mouthed off to Frank. I was sick of people expecting me to just be quiet and not speak out about how shitty everything was. Frank and I didn't get along, to say the least." He rubbed at his face furiously, as if the memories were making him itch. "So now you know about my awesome family life, and why I don't go home for Christmas, and I know why you don't go home to yours. So let's have a drink, shall we?" He got up and grabbed a bottle of whiskey from the counter. Bones stood, and yanked it out of his hands.

"Jim, you just finished throwing up a few hours ago. You really think adding alcohol to the mix is a good idea?" He pulled a glass out of the cabinet and filled it with water, passing it to the kid. Jim stuck his tongue out at his friend, and took a gulp.

"Fine, whatever." He stood up. "Do you need any help? I may not have learned how to cook from my mother, but I did pick up a few tricks on my own over the years. I can make...garlic bread, spaghetti, mashed potatoes, salad, chili, and smoothies...like...really well." Bones chuckled.

"I'm good for now, but maybe I'll ask you to stir something for me later." Jim sat back down, half smile on his face.

When dinner was done, and they had washed the dishes, Jim stood up to leave. Bones stood hastily too, and walked over to the vid screen.

"Hey Jim, the old cartoon version of 'The Grinch Who Stole Christmas' is probably streaming. You wanna watch it?" He cursed inwardly for how lonely and desperate he sounded, urging Jim to stay with the promise of...a cartoon. Jim, however, smiled broadly, and flopped onto the couch.

"Sure, teach me what I missed out on in my depraved youth." The two sat side by side, watching the classic. Bones would glance over once in a while and was delighted to see how drawn in Jim seemed. Jim turned towards him, catching Bones looking at him, and grinned, before returning his focus to the Grinch. Jim sprawled out a little more, relaxing, and in doing so moved a little closer to his friend, looking at Bones quickly. Before Bones could move closer in kind, the movie wrapped up, and he jumped up quickly, wanting to slap himself for continuing these crazy thoughts about his friend. Jim stood up slowly too, a curious look in his eye. He walked towards Bones a step, and stopped.

"So, that's what your Ex is like, huh?" Jim said, grinning. "But I guess she probably worked in the opposite order..you know, all loving and giving at first, and stealing Christmas at the end." Bones chuckled bitterly.

"Yeah, I guess one could sum up our marriage like that, although I'd really have to take at least 50% blame for things going wrong, so..." He cleared his throat. "Anyway. Merry Christmas, Jim. I'm glad you're feeling better." He walked Jim over to the door, and reached out his hand to shake. Jim looked down at his hand incredulously, before leaning in for a hug. Jim clung tightly to him for a moment, Bones arms coming up slowly to encircle Jim's shoulders in an awkward hug. They began to pull apart, and Bones noticed Jim's face looked flush again. He looked like he wanted to say something but was too hesitant to ask.

"Bones, I..." he stopped himself, swallowing hard. "I guess I just wanted to say that this is the most fun I've ever had on Christmas before. So...thanks." Bones blinked, surprised by that. The best Christmas he'd ever had? It sounded like his home life had sucked, but surely after high school he had gone to a girlfriend's house. Or a boyfriend's, for that matter. Though, if he thought about it, Bones sort of felt the same way. Despite the idyllic Christmases of his youth, and the Normal Rockwell-esque Christmases of his adulthood, this was the first Christmas that had felt fun naturally. No pressure for it to be perfect. The fact that he had expected it to be terrible had ultimately only enhanced the enjoyment he ended up feeling. If he didn't include last night of course.

"Strangely enough Jim, I share the sentiment." He said, sounding as surprised as he felt. Jim smirked, and clapped him on the shoulder.

"I doubt that, but at least it exceeded your expectations". Bones looked down at his shoulder where Jim's hand had continued to linger, before glancing back up at Jim's face. Jim was staring at him with a look of...lust? Was that lust he saw? Surely his mind was playing tricks on him. He definitely should not act on his feelings, when what he saw in Jim's eyes was clearly his own projection. 'Goddamit,' he thought, before leaning in to kiss Jim hard on the lips. 'I'm only a man'. He pulled away, shocked by his own actions.

"I'm so sorr..." He started to say, before his mouth was covered with Jim's own. As they broke apart, both with eyes as big as saucers, neither knew what to say.

So they continued kissing instead.


End file.
